ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SLAUGHTER VALUE AND FLESH QUALITY OF THE COMMON CARP IN FOUR TYPICAL FISH FARMS IN HUNGARY

Four important Hungarian common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) breeds (Attala mirror, Attala scaled, Hortobagy scaled and Szeged mirror) harvested from different fish farms were analysed in this study. Main body indices, slaughter characteristics, fillet fat content, and conventional fish flesh quality characteristics were measured and compared. The slaughter value of the mirror strains tended to exceed that of the scaled type carps. For the calculated body indices (profile, cross-sectional, head and tail index) the influence of strain was statistically proven. Fillet fat content was significantly (P<0.01) affected by strains/ponds. The pH value of the fillet was significantly influenced by the strain as a fixed factor. Large, strain dependent variability was proven in fat content besides identical fillet dry matter contents. It was assumed that culture conditions and strain largely influence and lead to a marked variability of the body composition and flesh quality of the most important Hungarian fish species.